EPUT dementia specialists connect with community at UFEST

Specialists from Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) joined a community festival event in Maldon to offer advice to members of the public caring for people with dementia.

The Dementia and Frailty Team set up a stall alongside EPUT’s adult
 mental health community team at Maldon’s first ever UFest, which was organised to celebrate the arrival of the Queen’s Baton Relay to the Maldon district.

The team offered advice to members of the public supporting people living with dementia as well as providing information about the service and how to seek a referral.

They also demonstrated some of the equipment the service uses to support people living with dementia including ‘the lighting project’ which uses daylight lightbulbs to naturally resolve changes to a person’s circadian rhythm, promoting better sleep at night and less periods of sleep during the day.

Dementia pets, electronic cats and dogs that provide company for people living with dementia, were also on display as well as cups with flashing lights to prompt users to drink at regular intervals and dementia clocks.

Rebecca Johnson, Advanced Nurse Practitioner with the Maldon Specialist Dementia and Frailty Team, said: “The team very

 much enjoyed connecting with the local community. It was a great way to network with local community groups whose members could be vulnerable to the onset of dementia.

“We had lots of interest and were able to offer advice and support to relatives and friends of those living with dementia.

“Dementia can be scary but this event gave the local community the chance to see the smiling, welcoming faces behind their local service.”

UFest, a free festival hosted by Maldon District Council, saw local organisations, sports clubs, schools and businesses get together at Promenade Park on 8 July to host live music, activities, stalls and events with a focus on health and wellbeing.